Trumpets

Well, brethren, in Scripture, Jesus Christ is revealed and referred to as the light of the world. We all know that. We've heard that many times. We know that Jesus Christ was perfect. We know that He never sinned. He came as a human being, born of just an infant. A baby grew up and was never subject to sin. He never sinned. He was tempted, yes, but He never sinned. He was perfect. And, of course, before His human birth, He was perfect as the logos, as the spokesman, the one who became Jesus Christ. We know that the one who became Christ always existed. He was there with the Father in the very beginning. The book of John tells us that clearly. He is the Eternal. He is the Lord. He is one that has been around forever. God the Father and Jesus Christ have been at one for a long time. And that's interesting to contemplate on this day of atonement, this time when we are to become at one as well with God, to consider that God the Father and the one who became Christ have always been at one. That's their nature. Neither one has ever sinned. They're perfect. They set the example for us of unity, of love, in every area of our lives. On the other hand, we know that the archangel Lucifer was created a perfect being. The Father and the Word, the Logos, were not created. They existed. That's where it all began, the Alpha and the Omega. But Lucifer was a created perfect being to begin with. Lucifer means light bringer. He means the morning star or the day star, the son of the morning. That's what Lucifer means. Lucifer was to bring light to the earth. That's why he was created. To bring light to the earth, he was given dominion over the earth. To bring light to the earth. And yet sin was found in Lucifer.

Lucifer became known as Satan, the God of this world.

He was the God of this world when Jesus Christ came on the scene. In fact, he stirred up Herod to try to kill Jesus as an infant. Today, we observe the Day of Atonement. This is a very special day. It is a day of afflicting oneself, a day of fasting. We fast today to humble ourselves and to draw close to God. You see, pride was the basic cause of Lucifer's demise. It was the basic cause of his downfall. He became lifted up in pride.

On the other hand, Jesus Christ has always remained humble and submissive to his Father's will. He said, nevertheless, not my will, Father, but your will be done. He was a human being. He was subject to certain emotions, certain feelings, certain desires. And yet, he became completely submissive to his Father's will. Again, he set the perfect example for us. Christ is indeed the light of the world. He is the true light-bringer that Satan the devil is the prince of darkness. Today, we're going to consider the symbolism of the two goats that we read about in Leviticus chapter 16. Two goats as different as day and night. Two goats as different as light and darkness. So, let's go to Isaiah chapter 14, where we read about Lucifer. Isaiah chapter 14 verse 12.

How are you falling from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?

How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. So, he had a throne here on the earth, and he wanted to exalt that throne above the stars of heaven, above all the angels that God had created. He was one of the angels. He was an archangel, but he wanted to basically overthrow his creator. So, he was lifted up in pride.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, on the farthest sides of the north, up in the third heaven. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High, or I will be the Most High, is what his attitude and what his approach was. Yet, you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit. Obviously, God is in charge. Satan doesn't have a chance against God as far as he has no power. God created him. In a sense, he's a pawn in God's hands.

God uses Satan to perfect his saints, to test, to try us. Satan does have a purpose.

But we do need to know our adversary. We need to know our enemy. Again, Christ is the light of the world, but Satan is the prince of darkness. Today, we're going to again consider this symbolism. We'll get there in a moment. But first, let's go to Ezekiel 28. A bit of a companion scripture with Isaiah 14. Ezekiel chapter 28, verse 11. Ezekiel 28 verse 11. Moreover, the word of the eternal came to me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre. The king of Tyre is a type of Satan the devil. To the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the eternal God, you were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden. It's clearly talking about Lucifer or Satan the devil. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering. The sardius, the topaz, the diamond, the barrel, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the turquoise, the emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day that you were created. You were the anointed cherub. You were the cherub. You were the angel who covers one of the archangels. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You were a part of the government of God. You had a very important role to play. Unfortunately, Lucifer did not stay obedient to God, did not stay faithful. You were on the mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created till iniquity was found in you. God didn't create sin. He created Lucifer. Perfect. And yet, Lucifer became corrupt because he allowed his mind to go a certain way against God. Let's read just a little further. By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within, and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you. This doesn't really mean exactly what we think of when destroyed, but Satan, Lucifer, was greatly diminished because of what he did, because of his sin. He was going to be utilized by God in a different way than was initially considered. I don't think God didn't create Lucifer to have to sin, but Lucifer did sin. And so, again, it says, I destroyed you. I minimized you. You might say, he's still, God is in charge. God will always be in charge. Oh, covering carob from the midst of the fiery stones, your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. He was quite wonderful, beautiful. I cast you to the ground. I laid you before the kings, that they might gaze at you. And this is, again, prophetic as well, something that will take place in the future. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading. Therefore, I brought fire from your midst. It devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth. In the sight of all who saw you, all who knew you among the people are astonished at you. You have become a horror, and you shall be no more forever.

So, you know, we don't know that we understand fully what Satan's fate will be. We can take certain things like this and speculate exactly what that means. But we know that God will certainly take care of Satan. And we know that this day also pictures a time when Satan is going to be bound for a thousand years. But Satan will be loosed after that time as well. And then God will deal with him. He'll be cast into outer darkness, into the abyss. Perhaps he will be completely destroyed. I don't know that we can really say for sure how God's going to deal with Satan.

So Lucifer became known as the adversary, the enemy, the Lord of darkness. Those angels who followed him, a third of the angels, became demons. They became evil spirits, ungodly spirits. Those who follow the ways of Satan will stumble in darkness. The Scripture tells us... Let's go to Proverbs 4, where it talks about those who follow Satan the devil, how they will stumble, how they will fall, how ultimately they will be destroyed.

Proverbs 4, verse 18. Proverbs 4, verse 18. But the path of the just is like the shining sun. See, again, there's a lot of language that speaks of light and sun, righteousness, and then darkness and sin.

The path of the just is like the shining sun that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble. They don't understand. They're blinded. They stumble. They fall. And they continue to do that because they don't understand what's happening, what's going on. They don't realize what they're doing. And it's a sad state of affairs, frankly, to be in that condition. We must be careful that we are not stumbling and not falling ourselves. Let's go to Leviticus chapter 16 now. Leviticus chapter 16. We'll read this in some detail and consider the symbolism of Leviticus chapter 16. Now, I remember when I first came in the church that I had to read this over and over and over again. I believe I understand it a whole lot better now than I did in the beginning. I don't know that I understand it fully. I'm sure I don't, but there are some things that I believe are quite evident. So we're going to start reading in chapter 16. And perhaps later you'll want to read the first six verses, but for sake of time, I'm going to start in verse 7. He shall take the two goats and present them before the eternal at the door of the tabernacle of meaning. The high priest is to take the two goats that were to be sacrificed or that were to be symbolized here. He shall take the two goats and present them before the eternal at the door of the tabernacle of meaning. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one for the eternal, the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat or the Azazel goat. Azazel basically means adversary. In some commentaries say it means it's speaking of a demon spirit. Two goats. Scapegoat is not really a good translation at all because this goat represents Satan the devil and Satan is no scapegoat.

Satan is certainly guilty of his sin and what he's done to mankind and how he's affected the whole world. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. Now we know that Jesus Christ died for our sins. The scripture is replete with scriptures that tell us that Christ died for our sins. That he never sinned, that he was perfect, but he died for our sins. He died for your sins. He died for my sins, so our sins could be forgiven. So this first goat, the goat whose lot was the eternal's lot, it was God's goat, you might say, this was to be the sin offering.

And it shall be offered as a sin offering. And Christ laid his life down for us. He sacrificed himself for us. He sacrificed himself that our sins would be forgiven. He became that sin offering for us, so that we would not have to die eternally. We would not have to suffer the second death if we were faithful, if we turned to God. So verse 10, but the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat or the Azazel goat shall be presented alive before the eternal to make atonement upon it. Think about it. Satan is still alive today, isn't he? Satan hasn't died. Satan is alive. Jesus Christ did die. He was crucified. He laid his life down. He became that sin offering. But Satan, the devil, is still alive. You've heard the expression, Satan is alive and well on the planet earth. He's creating havoc here on the earth. So the second goat is symbolic of Satan, the devil.

To make atonement upon it, it shall be presented alive before the eternal to make atonement upon it and to let it go as the scapegoat or the Azazel goat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bowl of the sin offering, which is for himself. He had to make an offering for himself and make atonement for himself and for his house and shall kill the bowl as the sin offering, which is for himself. Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the eternal with his hands full of sweet incense, beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the eternal that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony lest he die. Verse 14, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side. And before the mercy seat, he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people. The goat that was to be killed was to be for the people. Again, representing Christ who is for the people, who gave his life for us. He is our Messiah. He died for us. He is for the people. Verse 15 again, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood, as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions, because of their sins, for all their sins. And so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting, which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. Now, we know that the high priest was only to go into the holy of holies once a year. In fact, you may have heard that they would actually tie a rope to the high priest. So that if he went in there and God struck him down because he did something he shouldn't have, or maybe he had a heart attack or whatever, they would have a rope so they could drag him out.

So no one would have to go in and get him. So they took these things very seriously. So verse 15, he shall kill to go to the sin offering, which is for the people. Verse 16, so he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, because of their transgressions. Verse 17, there shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. Verse 18, and he shall go out to the altar that is before the eternal and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar all around. Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his fingers seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it. Seven is a number of perfection and completeness, so it was to be sprinkled seven times, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his fingers seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. Verse 20, and when he is made an end of atoning for the holy place, the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. Okay, so now let's talk about the live goat. Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel. So this is also an interesting ceremony here. He's going to profess over this goat all the sins of the children of Israel. Now, when we consider that that Lucifer was the first to sin, he's the father of sin, the father of lies, it's understandable that he would be represented by this goat that would have these sins laid upon him. He was the first one to sin, and we followed in his footsteps, frankly. Mankind has followed in Satan's footsteps. Adam and Eve followed in Satan's footsteps. Satan was there in the garden as a serpent to tempt, Eve to sin. And so, Aaron will lay both of his hands on the head of the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. Now, who do you think this suitable man would be? Symbolic. It's symbolic of Christ. Christ is the suitable man, the son of man, the one that would be suitable to bind Satan, to Satan the devil, and to ultimately destroy Satan the devil. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. So, now Satan is still on the throne here on the earth, but he will be cast into outer darkness. He will be cast into certainly a spiritual wilderness. So, this goat is representative of Satan the devil.

Now, let's go to Revelation 20 and tie in what it says here about Satan. Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation chapter 20 verse 1. John says, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, an angel or a messenger coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit, and he shut him up, and he set a seal on him, so that he should no longer deceive the nations till the thousand years were finished.

But after these things, he must be released for a little while. For a thousand years, while Christ is reigning here on the earth, while the saints are reigning and ruling with Christ, Satan will be in a spiritual wilderness. He will not be able to impact anyone. He won't be able to infect anyone with his evil thoughts, with the complete violence of his nature. So it's going to be a wonderful time, a thousand years while Satan is bound.

Verse 4, And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image. Now, there are many other scriptures that talk about the beast and the image. That is yet to be fulfilled. That is a time coming upon the earth before Christ returns. And had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands, and they lived and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

So it's talking about those who would be martyred in faith, standing up for truth, standing up for God. They would also rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. They're going to obviously be among the dead that will be resurrected at Christ's return.

Now, there will be other faithful people who will not have to go through martyrdom that will be protected in a place of safety. And I believe that would be the better place to be. But I guess I would rather be a martyr than not be in God's kingdom. It's certainly better to be in that place of safety.

It's just something for us to consider, something for us to think about. Where do you want to be if you happen to be alive? At that time, do you want to be in a place of safety? Protected by God? Or do you want to be martyred?

Or do you want to be one who is just simply cut off from God completely? I mean, it's a good question to ask ourselves to consider, because these things will come to pass. Now, whether or not they happen in your lifetime or my lifetime, you know, we have no guarantees of that. So I make no claims. I'm just saying, if it were to happen, where would you be?

And also, where do you want to be when you die? Because if you're not alive when Christ returns, that means you're dead. And if you're dead, what condition will you be in when you're dead? Will you be awaiting a resurrection to life? Or will you have to stay in the grave for a thousand years? Good questions to consider on this day of atonement. Verse 5, But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.

So the rest of the dead, those who were not faithful to God, those who were not resurrected in the first resurrection, those who died in Christ, whether they died a thousand years ago or two thousand years ago or three thousand years ago, if they died in Christ, they will rise first, and then those who are alive and remain shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.

And they will all rise to meet Christ in the air as he's coming back to rule and reign. Upon the earth. Now, the next sentence should be in parentheses because it's referring back to verse 4. This is the first resurrection. This is the first resurrection, refers back to verse 4, where it says, they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Okay, that clearly goes back to verse 4. The rest of the dead did not live again. That's a second resurrection.

The first resurrection is for those who are faithful and true, called, chosen, and faithful. The second resurrection is for those who will have an opportunity to become called, chosen, and faithful. That's what the second resurrection is about. They haven't had their opportunity. They haven't been called of God. They haven't received God's Holy Spirit. They haven't been enlightened by God's Spirit. 5. So, blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years.

Verse 7, Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. So, you can rest assured that as soon as Satan is released, he's going to begin broadcasting again.

He's going to broadcast his evil attitudes, his violence, his ungodliness. He's going to start broadcasting that to all human beings who are alive, and they're going to be tested at that time. This is something that they would have never had to go through. We are tempted by Satan today. We, who are among the firstfruits, we are being tested. Satan is broadcasting. He wants us to dial in to his wavelength.

We have to resist Satan. The Scripture says, resist Satan, and he will flee from you. He has no power over you. God in you has all the power. Always remember that. Satan is helpless to hurt you unless you allow it, unless you give him license. If you resist him, he will flee from you. He has to flee. He's commanded to flee. He has no power, except which God allows. And God does not allow him to have power over those who resist, and who fight back, who fight the good fight.

So, it's clear, though, he does have a lot of power, doesn't it? Because he's going to immediately begin broadcasting, and some people will dial in. In fact, many people will. Let's read further.

Gog and Magog together them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city Jerusalem. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. It's over then! I mean, it's one sentence. Fire came down out of heaven. There's no great battle here, is there? Fire comes down out of heaven. They're gone.

And devoured them. The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet… Notice it says, R, it's in italics. That's not a good translation. The beast and the false prophet would have been thrown into a lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet were thrown in. They were burned up initially when Christ returns. So, a thousand years earlier. And they will be tormented day and night. Referring back to the devil. Was cast into the lake of fire. Tormented day and night forever and ever. Again, I don't know that we know fully how all of this is going to play out, how it's all going to happen. We do see through a glass darkly to some degree. So, it's important to study the Scriptures and to try to glean as much as we possibly can. Regarding these things, they're not necessarily essential to salvation. What's essential to salvation is whether or not we're repentant. If we've repented of our sins, if we've accepted Christ as our Savior, that's the most important thing. Prophecy is interesting.

It's good to study into prophecy. That's something that we should do. But most importantly, we need to get our lives right with God and with Jesus Christ and repent of our sin.

Now, let's go to 2 Peter 2.

2 Peter 2 Peter 2.

Verse 4. 2 Peter 2, verse 4. 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, God did not spare the demons, the ones who followed Lucifer, and sinned against God and rebelled against God, for if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell, to the grave, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment, and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly. So Sodom and Gomorrah should be an example to us that if you don't obey God, if you don't turn to God, if you don't repent of your sins, you will be burnt up, as they were burnt up in Sodom and Gomorrah. On the other hand, he delivered Reis's lot. Remember, lot fled the city. His wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt, but lot did flee the city, and he was spared.

So he delivered Reis's lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. You know, lot needed to... should have gotten out of there long before he did. I mean, he was in a bad place. He should have had enough insight and wisdom to realize being around that type of an environment is certainly very unhealthy. Remember, he left Abraham. Remember that? He made a choice. It was a bad choice. He should have stayed with Abraham. Abraham was the father of the faithful. A lot made a bad choice going toward Sodom and toward Gomorrah. He should be very grateful God spared him. There was something there that was worth sparing, obviously. He is referred to as Reis's lot, but he was compromised. And sometimes, even though we may be righteous to some degree, we can also be compromised. And we'll pay the price for that, just like Lot paid the price.

His family paid the price, and there's more that could be said. But we need to consider that and consider our actions, because be sure your sins do find you out. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. So the angels who sinned will be in a place of restraint until the day of judgment. It says that we shall judge angels. Now, how that's all going to work, too. We don't know all the details and how that's going to work. But those who become born into the family of God, who will become like God, like Christ, will also judge those angels.

Let's go to 2 Corinthians 4. You know, it's very clear that some very difficult times are going to come upon the earth. The Scripture is very clear about that. There are many prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled. They will be fulfilled. They will take place. So we should not hide from these Scriptures. We should read them and consider them and know that they are true and know that they will take place. Some very, very difficult times. In fact, the most difficult times ever. And there's been some bad times on the earth. Think about it. You know, there's been some horrible times that have gone on in the last nearly 6,000 years of history. This is going to be the worst. The worst time ever.

So 2 Corinthians 4. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 1. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. So Paul is talking to the church at Corinth. We all have this same ministry. We're all a part of God's true church.

We have received mercy. We do not lose heart, but we have renounced the hidden things of shame. We have renounced the hidden things of shame, the things of darkness, the things that Satan represents. Satan as the Prince of Darkness, as the Lord of Darkness. We should renounce all of that darkness. Things of shame, not walking in craftiness. Satan is the great deceiver. He's very crafty. He's a tempter.

Not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, which obviously Satan wants his minions. He has his own ministers that handle the word of God deceitfully. And they're blinded to the truth, and they're Satan's minions.

But by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God, we must listen to our conscience, and it must be a godly conscience. Gave a sermon about that some time ago. Our conscience needs to be stirred up by God's Spirit. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. Those who are in darkness is what it's saying. Those who are perishing and are still in darkness, whose minds the God of this age has blinded. Satan has blinded the vast majority of people's minds. This is a wonderful gift that we have being here today to consider the truth of God and to know that it's only because God opened our minds. God gets all the credit for this. God opened your mind. He opened my mind. We should be eternally grateful. We will be eternally grateful. As long as we live forever, we should be extremely grateful for this calling that we have. This gift that God has given us.

It says, Who is in the image of God should shine on them. The gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Again, that unity, that oneness that we also reflect upon today, this day of atonement, this day of atonement. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus, our Lord, the Lord, and ourselves, your bondservants, for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So, again, Satan is the God of this world. He must be resisted.

We must pull away from Satan the devil and not allow him to have influence upon us. Now, in Amos chapter 5, Amos chapter 5, again, this is a prophecy of what is to come. Amos, Obadiah, if that helps you. You know where Obadiah is, you can find Amos.

Amos chapter 5.

Amos chapter 5 verse 18.

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord. Okay, do we really desire the day of the Lord? The day of the Lord is the day of God's wrath. It's a year of God's wrath poured upon a sinning world. So, woe to those who desire the day of the Lord. Only those who would desire it would be twisted in their minds, perhaps thinking that they want God to wreak vengeance upon people. You know, God only does this because it's a part of equity. It's not because God desires it or wants to do it. God is a loving and a just and a righteous God. Vengeance is mine. It's not supposed to be ours. We're not the ones that are to seek vengeance.

We should want people to be spared. We should want people to turn from their sins and be spared this horrible time that's coming upon the earth. Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord. For what good is the day of the Lord to you? Because anyone who has that kind of thought process is going to get caught up in the day of the Lord. They're going to be punished for their sins. They're going to be punished for their wrong thinking. They're going to be humbled because it's pride that allows a person to think that way.

For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion. Okay, if you're fleeing from a lion and you think you've got the lion whipped, you know, you got him beat. You're ahead of him because there's someone slower than you in the group. You've heard that, right? As long as you can run faster than the slowest person in your group, you're okay. But that's not a good way to look at things either. All right, so anyway, it will be as though a man fled from a lion and a bear met him. Okay, so you're thinking, oh, I'm free. I'm away from this lion. And then here's a big grizzly bear. And a bear met him. Or as though he went into the house, he leaned his hand on the wall and a serpent beat him. A serpent bit him. Once I got bit by a scorpion in the dark, I was taking a shower. Well, I don't know if I had light on. I guess it was pretty dark because I couldn't see the thing and it bit me or it stung me. So this scripture reminds me of that day when I got stung. That was in Oklahoma. There were more scorpions there for some reason. At least they got into my house a lot more. I don't know if we've had any scorpions. I can't remember. I don't remember seeing any scorpions here in my house in Texas. I'm sure there are scorpions in Texas. They just haven't gotten into my house yet. Okay, so back to the scripture. Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light? Is it not very dark with no brightness in it? It's going to be a very gloomy day when that happens. We're not there yet, people. We have a lot to be thankful for. We have a lot to enjoy. We have so much to enjoy right now. So let's enjoy it. I'm not saying eat, drink, and be merry in a wrong sense. But I think we should enjoy the times that we have right now. We should rejoice in God's feast and really enjoy it. Because times are coming that are going to be much, much more difficult in the future. But let's do it in a godly way. Let's rejoice in a godly way. That's what God wants us to do.

Alright, now let's go to Zephaniah. Okay, that's right beside Hagia. Zephaniah. Alright, Zephaniah.

Zephaniah, Hagia, there we go. Zephaniah, chapter 1. Zephaniah, chapter 1, verse 15. If you haven't memorized the books of the Bible, I tell you, it really does help in finding the Scriptures. Because when I was in Sunday school, back in the old days, I learned all the books of the Bible. And when I'm trying to find Scriptures, I start in my mind mentally. Hagia, you know, I can go through them all. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, you know. I learned this song. And when it gets to, especially the prophets, the minor prophets, much easier to find the Scriptures if you have it memorized. And you can find the Scriptures much more quickly. Zephaniah 1, verse 15. That day is a day of wrath. It's speaking about the day of the Lord. It's a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation, a day of desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the eternal. They've sinned against the Lord. Their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like refuse. So again, not a pretty picture. The Bible is very graphic. It tells it like it is.

Now in Isaiah 5, verse 20.

Isaiah 5, verse 20.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Does that not happen today? A lot of people call a lot of bad things good. You know, and it's sad. And they call a lot of good things, like God's Sabbath, a bad thing.

This scripture is certainly a true scripture. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Excuse me. Who put darkness for light and light for darkness. Some things are dark, but we call them light. We look at them as good. They're against God's law, but people break the law. Premarital sex, for example. Okay, that's not a good thing. That's the thing that God condemns in the scripture. He condemns that. That's a bad thing. And yet, you know, it's glorified almost, you know, it's on today. In today's media and the TV, I mean, it's like it's rampant. No one thinks anything of it. It's the thing to do. If you're 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, young person, sleep with as many people, or, you know, it's a lot more than sleeping. You know, that's a bad thing. And yet, it's called good in this land. That's a fulfillment of this scripture.

It says, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. That's a bitter thing. You know, it can turn very bitter. In many cases, it hurts people's lives. Premarital sex hurts a lot of people's lives. It really does.

It's destructive.

Isaiah 59, verse 9.

Isaiah chapter 59, verse 9. Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us. We look for light, but there is darkness. Isn't that true today? We look for light. We look for beautiful things, godly things, righteous things. It's difficult to find some decent shows. You know, I'm not going to say anything about a particular show. I'm being called a certain thing now. A few of you know what I'm talking about. Inside joke. Okay, so anyway, it is hard to find shows that are uplifting and decent that you don't mind watching. You still have to be careful recommending them. So anyway, it says, We wait for light, but behold, obscurity, for brightness, but we walk in darkness. A new and a better way is coming because of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. Jesus Christ is the Lamb that was slain from the foundation. Now, a goat, a little goat, is very similar to a lamb when they're little, when they're young. Now, they get worse when they get older. Old billy goats, you know, they're cantankerous. But when they're little babies, both goats and sheep, lambs, are cute. And that's Christ is innocent. And that's the picture. So that goat that was slain can be a picture of Christ who laid his life down for us. And Christ was slain from the foundations of the world, from the foundations of the material world. Now, I don't know how far that goes back when it comes to the spirit world. It's interesting to contemplate about the spirit world, Satan, the devil, Lucifer. When did, you know, when did that plan of salvation materialize completely, with Christ being slain? He was slain from the foundations of the world.

Does that go back before... I'm just throwing stuff out now. I just something to think about. Does that go back before Lucifer was ever created?

Or was it after Lucifer sinned?

Something to consider, to think about, talk about.

Certainly, he was slain from the foundations of the world, as the Scripture says.

Now, in Isaiah chapter 60, Isaiah chapter 60 verse 2, Again, this is prophecy. These Scriptures will be fulfilled. Darkness shall cover the earth before Christ returns. It's going to be a dreadful day, a dark and a gloomy time. And, again, I'm going to go back to the Bible. I'm going to go back to the Bible. A dreadful day, a dark and a gloomy time.

But there will be great light when Christ returns. The light-bringer will be back, and we will rule and reign with Christ.

I'm going to go quickly through a few Scriptures. I'm not going to turn to all these. I'll just go quickly through them. In Isaiah chapter 9, it speaks about the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They've seen a great light when Christ returns. They've walked in darkness, but now Christ rules. They've seen a great light. That's verse 2, Isaiah 9, verse 2. They that dwell on the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. And then it goes on. Under them a child is born. Under them a son is given, who will be ruler and king. The Almighty Father. Those Scriptures are prophetic. We'll read those no doubt during the Feast of Tabernacles. We'll hear those words again.

But the people have walked in darkness, and God is sending His Son so that there will be light upon the earth once again.

In Luke chapter 1, verses 78 and 79, Christ is coming to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. We will come to know peace. There will be no more war.

Peace will prevail. It's a wonderful, glorious time that we're picturing as we go to the Feast of Tabernacles and consider what's happening. You know, we've talked about the Feast of Trumpets. Christ is returning. The Day of Atonement. We'll be coming at one with God. Satan is bound for a thousand years. Christ is ruling on the earth. And then the eighth day, and what it pictures. It's a wonderful plan that God brings to us every year in the spring, at Pentecost, and then again in the fall. And it's a beautiful plan of salvation that's pictured in God's holy days. Isaiah 29, verse 18, And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness, that the actual blind will see. The physically blind will see. They will have their eyesight restored, and they will see again. But also the spiritually blind will see. And light will come to them. Christ, at His return, will bring tremendous light to the world. So what I'm doing is I'm contrasting the two goats. The one goat is representative of Satan the devil, of darkness, and of evil. The other goat is symbolic of our Savior Jesus Christ, who died for us, who gave His life, who's coming back to this earth and is bringing salvation with Him. Salvation with Him, and He's bringing tremendous light with Him at His return. What a difference between those two goats that were slain on the Day of Atonement. Or the one goat wasn't slain.

The goat that represented Satan was just taken out into the wilderness. Satan is still alive today. And we know Christ is alive also, but Christ did die first. And was resurrected for us. A few more scriptures.

Isaiah 49 verse 9, That you may say to the prisoners, Go forth, to them that are in darkness. Show yourselves they shall feed in the ways, and their pastors shall be in all high places. God is going to restore true worship. There's been a lot of false worship throughout the ages. A lot of pagan idol worship and worship of the false God, Satan the devil himself, and those gods that would represent Him. Satan is a very selfish being. Satan influenced Adam and Eve to be selfish. Mankind has followed along. We're a selfish people. You are a selfish person. I am a selfish person. You know, it's somewhat inherent within us. We have to fight against that. We have to resist Satan because he'll stir up that selfishness within us. Lucifer was all about that. It was all about him, wasn't it? It was about him. To him, it was about him. But no, it's not about us either, is it? It's not about us. It's about all of us working together to glorify God.

Only then will we have true happiness and joy and life eternal. So we have to cast off the shackles of selfishness in our own lives and learn to really love as Christ loved, willing to lay His life down. So are you willing to sacrifice yourself to lay your life down? I mean, that's really what it gets to. We're to put on the mind of Christ. We're to become like Him. So until we're there, we have a ways to go. So we all have a ways to go.

Thankfully, God is very merciful. And as long as we're striving to do our best, we're trying to do our best, and we keep our eyes focused on God and His kingdom, God will be gracious and merciful. He will give us the kingdom. Christ died for our sins. Our sins are washed away. In the blood of Christ. But it's not something to take lightly, is it? We shouldn't take it lightly, but we should be truly grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior. So we as God's Elect are to be much different from the world. We're to be as different as the two goats. Think about that. We're supposed to be different like that. Okay, we live in a world that's a certain way. Satan is the God of this world. It's a dark world. There's a lot of sin and evil going on in the world. We're to be as different as those who follow darkness as these two goats. So think about that. We're to hate the world, is what God tells us. They're enemies. The world is an enemy. Now that doesn't mean you can't enjoy life and you can't enjoy people, because I surely do. I love people, all people. They don't have to be a part of God's church. I mean, I genuinely care for other people. My neighbors, I talk to them. I try to be friendly. I try to be a good neighbor. And you know, some of them have more understanding than others. You know, God gives people different levels of understanding, depending on where they're at and what they're seeking. You know, there's a lot of people that have a lot on the ball in the world. You know, they have a lot going for themselves, because they read the Bible, too. And they believe it. They may be blinded in some areas. God may not be calling them now, but if they read the Bible and they yield to the Bible in certain areas of their life, surely they will be blessed for that. And it's different from those who are in greater darkness. So, you know, we have to be careful how we look at the world and how we look at individuals. Everyone is different. Everyone is different. We first start with love for all people. You know, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. So we start with love, and we continue loving people, even when they're difficult to love. We do the best we can. But we're not naive, either. People are different in the world. Some, you can have them as your friends, because they respect you. They care for you. They can be your friends. But those who will stab you in the back, those who are inclined toward evil, then you have to distance yourself. But you have to make that judgment call. That's between you and God and the people that you come in contact with.

So our example is to be the example that Christ set for us, one who cares for others, one who supplies their needs, who takes care of people. You know, we should be good neighbors. Isaiah 58 If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noon day. The Lord will guide you continually. You can come out of darkness. Anyone can come out of darkness if they choose to. And that also gets back to people in the world. They also have a choice. They get to choose what they're going to do every day of their lives. They get to choose whether or not they're going to follow the biblical principles that they've read about or not.

Or maybe they haven't read about them and they're just going to do whatever comes naturally for them. But nevertheless, they're going to make choices. And how they treat other people is a choice. How you treat people is a choice.

So, your darkness shall be as the noon day. The Eternal will guide you continually and will satisfy your soul in drought and will strengthen your bones. You shall be like a watered garden. You will flourish like a watered garden. Like a beautiful garden, you will flourish. And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail, those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations and you shall be called the repairer of the breach. Christ is the ultimate repairer of the breach. That's what he's going to do, and we're going to help him repair the breach. A frightened world. There's going to be a frightened world that we're going to have to deal with. When Christ returns. Many people would have died. Billions of people would have died.

And so, we're going to have to help them. We're going to have to repair the breach. We're going to have to restore them. And that takes God's wisdom. Mr. Armstrong often spoke of two ways of life. He spoke of the give way and the get way of life. Two ways as different as two goats. Two goats, two different ways. Satan the devil or Christ's way. We choose. We get to choose.

We get to choose. I think that, again, is what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is all about. You get to choose whether you're going to do good, or are you going to do evil? It's a choice.